Drink and Drugs News is published by CJ Wellings Ltd , Romney House , School Road , Ashford , Kent TN27 0LT t : 0845 299 3429
Editor : Claire Brown e : claire @ cjwellings . com
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IN THIS ISSUE
6
ON THE COVER – Housing matters 10
Improving
access to treatment for women
Working with people with complex needs
20
INSIDE
4 NEWS New treatment funding ; call for alcohol duty increase
8 HOUSING SUPPORT OHID ’ s Rosanna O ’ Connor explains the new grant
14 LETTERS & COMMENT Remembering Si Parry ; letters to the editor
15 PARLIAMENT Essentials for government housing strategy
16 NEED FOR TRAINING Tackling the skills deficit
18 SAFER SEX WORK Proactive approach
Will lobbying from the gambling industry water down the new white paper ?
12
DDN National Conference
THURSDAY 13 JULY 2023
The National Motorcycle Museum , Birmingham SAVE THE DATE !
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‘ It ’ s about having a safe space , not just a roof ’
Soaring rents , stagnant rates of housing benefit , and many more families facing homelessness . The investments in the drug strategy and rough sleeping strategy are a vital intervention but we need to heed Crisis ’ call for a more preventative homelessness system ( p15 ). There ’ s a key role for drug and alcohol workers here in making the integrated care systems a reality , right from the commissioning stage , so in this issue we ’ ve had a look at some of the excellent work going on around the country to address homelessness and the many complexities that relate to it .
It ’ s all about having a safe space , and not just a roof over your head . And that ’ s where all those different elements of support are so important , whether they offer a refuge from abusive relationships , a chance to break with a compulsive behaviour such as gambling , or a chance to detox or stabilise .
These are , of course , demanding roles – and you need to be confident as well as qualified to work well with such diverse tasks and specific issues that have a direct bearing on someone ’ s health and wellbeing . It ’ s not the situation to take a guess . So here ’ s an interesting question : has your training and professional development suffered at all since the pandemic ( p16-17 )? Have a read and let us know because we ’ re looking at careers in our next issue . Are you getting the support you need ?
Claire Brown , editor www . drinkanddrugsnews . com and @ DDNmagazine
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